Nobel, Alfred Bernhard (1833–1896)

Artist's impression of the explosion at the Nobels'
workshop near Stockholm in which Alfred's youngest brother was among
those killed.

The gold medal awarded to Nobel prize winners

Swedish-born inventor of dynamite and other
explosives. About 1863 he set up a factory
to manufacture liquid nitroglycerin,
but wen in 1864 this blew up, killing his younger brother, Nobel set out
to find safe handling methods for the substance, so discovering dynamite,
patented in 1867 (UK) and 1868 (US). Later he invented gelignite (patented
1876) and ballistite (1888). A lifelong pacifist, he wished his explosives
to be used solely for peaceful purposes, and as much embittered by their
military use. He left most of his fortune for the establishment of the Nobel
Foundation and this fund has been used to award Nobel Prizes since 1901.

Early life

Nobel was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. His father, Immanuel, came
from a poor peasant background and worked his way to fame as a military
engineer. In 1842 he took his family to Russia where he began making land
and sea mines which he supplied to the Russian government.

Like his two older brothers Robert and Ludwig, Alfred was schooled at home
by private tutors. As a young man he spent about one year in the United
States to study under Swiss engineer John Ericsson. Returning to Europe,
he soon made a name for himself as an inventor. Besides, he had a share
in the oil business of his brothers who had opened up the Baku oilfields
in South Russia.

Together with his father, who had also returned to Sweden, Alfred Nobel
now began experimenting with explosives. At Helenborg, near Stockholm, father
and son opened a small workshop for their researches, and for producing
nitroglycerine. For Alfred had discovered a useful method of exploding this
substance, for which he had obtained a government patent. At their workshop
one day, and accident occurred: a nitroglycerine explosion wrecked the plant,
and Alfred's youngest brother and several other men were killed in the blast.
A month later Immanuel Nobel suffered a stroke and remained an invalid for
the rest of his life.

Invention of dynamite

This left Alfred Nobel to carry on alone. He now began to set up new factories
in Norway and Germany. But nitroglycerine remained very dangerous, especially
when handled without care. The mishap that killed one of the Nobel brothers
was not the only one of its kind: Nobel's factory in Germany blew up; so
did a ship off Panama; and other blasts occurred in San Francisco, New York,
and Australia. In the end, Belgium and France no longer allowed nitroglycerine
to be made on their territories, while Sweden would not let it be transported,
and Britain severely restricted its use.

At last, in 1866 and 1867, Nobel solved the problem. Nitroglycerine is a
highly unstable liquid. By adding absorbent materials he was able to store
it and transport it safely. To explode it now required a special detonator.
This new form of nitroglycerine explosive was called 'dynamite' (from the
Greek dynamis, meaning force), and became popularly known as 'Nobel's
safety powder'.

From then on, Alfred Nobel's factories grew rapidly. In 1871 he built a
plant in Ardeer, Scotland, which later became one of the world's largest
dynamite factories. By 1875 he had factories in almost every country in
Europe, and two in the United States. In 1887 he invented ballistite, the
smokeless nitroglycerine powder that most countries began to use as gunpowder.
Altogether, Nobel took out more than 100 patents on his inventions.

Fluent in several language besides his native Swedish, and immensely rich,
Nobel became something of an international citizen, traveling abroad and
looking after concerns in many lands. He remained single and was a lonely,
rather pessimistic man. Fully aware of the deadly weapon which his inventions
had put into the hands of military powers, he supported various organizations
which were working for peace in Europe.

When Nobel died in 1896, he left £3¼ million in a fund, the interest
from which was to provide five international prizes each year. These are
awarded in Stockholm, on the anniversary on his death, to those who have
made outstanding contributions in the fields of physics,chemistry, medical
science, world literature, and friendship among nations. This last, the
Peace Prize, expressed Nobel's hope that the world would not misuse his
inventions.

Selection of prize-winners

The Nobel prizes have since become one of the greatest honors that a scientist
or writer may attain. They are awarded on recommendation from various learned
bodies in Sweden, except for the peace prize, which depends on advice given
by a committee of five people selected by the parliament of Norway. The
prize itself consists of a gold medal and a certificate, together with a
sum of (in 2012) $1.1 million. Sometimes the award is shared by several
people, and if no one of sufficient merit is found, it is not made at all.

In the list of the award winners over the years are many of the great names
of modern science and literature. The first Peace Prize, in 1901, went to
Jean Henri Dunant, a citizen of Geneva, and founder of the Red Cross. Long
gaps appear in the last list, because of the two world wars and for other
reasons that made it hard to find a worthy champion of peace. The money
accumulated in this way has been used to set up Nobel Institutes.